The present invention relates to a fire alarm system including: a plurality of terminal equipments disposed in individual sections within a monitored area, and a control panel for monitoring or controlling the terminal equipments, as well as to a terminal equipment to be disposed within the monitored area.
A fire alarm system to be installed in a building comprises terminal equipments to be disposed in individual sections within a monitored area, such as a fire alarm sensor and a smoke control system, and a control panel which is to be disposed in a disaster prevention center and controls the terminal equipments. A predetermined command signal and a data signal are exchanged between the control panel and the terminal equipments, thereby performing emergency disaster prevention.
In such a fire alarm system, the control panel performs centralized control operation while collecting signals from many terminal equipments. Hence, the fire alarm system yields an advantage of the ability to detect a fire with higher reliability than could be achieved by individual terminal equipments.
However, in the event that the control panel is in trouble or a transmission line between the control panel and the terminal equipments is broken, there arises a risk of the terminal equipments being uncontrolled and unable to detect a fire.
When a terminal equipment is activated by the control panel; for example, when a fire door is actuated, a solenoid is brought into conduction. The control panel must perform a control operation for initially sending a signal to turn on the solenoid and sending another signal to turn off the solenoid. Correspondingly, the control panel must perform a complicated control operation. Further, in the event that the control panel is in trouble, a fire door becomes impossible to actuate,
As mentioned above, in the related fire alarm system, the majority of control operations are dependent on the control panel. Hence, in the event that a problem has occurred in the control panel or a line to the control panel, the entire fire alarm system would not work.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fire alarm system even when the control panel cannot control terminal equipments, or even when the control panel has low processing capability.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a fire alarm system, comprising:
a plurality of terminal equipments; and
a control panel, which monitors or controls the terminal equipments,
wherein the terminal equipments include a first terminal equipment provided with a first mode in which the first terminal equipment is controlled by the control panel, and a second mode in which the first terminal equipment controls a second terminal equipment which is other than the first terminal equipment.
In this configuration, at least one of the terminal equipments has a control function of controlling another terminal equipment. Even in the event of a failure having occurred in the control panel or the control panel having become uncontrollable for reasons of a break in a line between the control panel and the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment having the control function can control another terminal equipment in lieu of the control panel, thereby ensuring the function of the overall fire alarm system.
Here the term xe2x80x9cterminal equipmentsxe2x80x9d encompasses various kinds of fire detectors, interface modules, gas sensors, smoke control systems, manual call points, and local alarm bells. Particularly, analog type fire detectors of various types, an interface module connected to an on/off type sensor, and a manual call point capable of manually recognizing a fire are preferable as terminal equipments to be provided with control functions. A control function is added to a terminal equipment capable of sensing a fire. In the event that a fire has occurred while a control panel is inoperative, alarming activity can be carried out.
A terminal equipment having a control function may be controlled by another terminal equipment having a control function,
Preferably, the first terminal equipment is provided with a memory for registering the second terminal equipment.
Alternatively, the second terminal equipment may be provided with a memory for registering the first terminal equipment.
In the above configurations, a control-controlled link relationship can be set between terminal equipments. In short, when the first terminal equipment sends a control signal to the second controlled terminal equipment stored in the memory, or when a the second terminal equipment receives a control signal, the second terminal equipment responds if the signal is output from the first terminal equipment stored in the memory.
Memory in the first terminal equipment and memory in the second terminal equipment may store the address of a terminal equipment to be registered. Alternatively, the range of a specific address is stored, and terminal equipments having addresses falling within the range may be taken as objects to be registered. Still alternatively, in the case of the first terminal equipment, there is stored a specific group; for example, terminal equipments of a specific type such as fire doors or terminal equipments disposed in a specific area such as on the first floor so that terminal equipments belonging to the group are registered as terminal equipments to be controlled
Preferably, the second terminal equipment is provided with a first mode in which the second terminal equipment is controlled by the control panel, a second mode in which the second terminal equipment is controlled by the first terminal equipment and a third mode in which the second terminal equipment does not reply to the first terminal equipment""s control.
In this configuration, in a case where all the terminal equipments located on one floor or all the terminal equipments of a single type are taken as a group unit, and where a control signal is sent to the group unit as an object of control, terminal equipments which do not require such control can be set so as not to respond. Eventually, terminal equipments to be controlled can be set individually.
Preferably, the first terminal equipment is a fire detector, which transmits a detected result to the control panel in response to an instruction issued from the control panel. Here, the fire detector transmits a fire signal to the control panel when a fire is detected, regardless of the issuance of the instruction.
In this configuration, even when no instruction is issued from the control panel, the fire detector transmits the fire signal to the control panel. Consequently, even when a fire detector that has detected a fire is not in communication with the control panel, the fire detector causes an interrupt in the event of occurrence of a fire, thereby sending a fire signal and ensuring a fire alarming activity without failure.
Here, it is preferable that the fire detector selects the second mode when the control panel does not reply to the fire signal.
In this configuration, when the fire detector does not receive any response from the control panel despite having sent the fire signal, the fire detector performs a control operation (second mode) on its own initiative. Hence, even when fire alarming activities centered on the control panel are not carried out, the fire detector that has detected a fire can carry out the fire alarming activity, thereby ensuring the function of the fire alarm system.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a terminal equipment in a fire alarm system, comprising a memory which stores a pattern of a predetermined output signal according to the output object.
In this configuration, since the terminal equipment stores the pattern of the predetermined output signal according to the output object in the memory, even if a control signal output from the control panel is simple, the terminal equipment can output an appropriate signal according to the output object.
Here, the output object may be the terminal equipment described previously, or others. The output signal may be outputted directly or indirectly to the output object. Specifically, if an interface module connected to a fire door is the above terminal equipment, an output signal pattern for driving the fire door may be stored in the interface module. Alternatively, if a fire door is the above terminal equipment, an output signal pattern for driving itself may be stored in the fire door. Further, if the terminal equipment is a fire detector, a display light of the fire detector may be illuminated in accordance with an output signal pattern stored in a memory of the fire detector.
The followings are conceivable as the pattern of an appropriate output signal according to the output object. In the case where the pattern is for driving a fire door, the pattern of a one-shot pulse signal is desirable. In the case where the terminal equipment is a local alarm bell or a display lamp, the pattern of a cyclic pulse signal is desirable.
This terminal equipment may be the above described terminal equipment which is able to control another terminal equipment, the above described terminal equipment to be controlled, or a terminal equipment having both functions.
Generally speaking, according to the present invention, autonomy of the terminal equipment is improved. Hence, in the event of the control panel being uncontrollable, the function of the fire alarm system can be ensured.